Seoul to offer free public transport on Monday to combat fine dust

South Korea will enforce an alternate no driving day restriction in the capital city to cope with high levels of fine dust in the atmosphere, the government said Sunday.

The move that will be implemented Monday affects all vehicles operated by public organizations in Seoul, the Ministry of Environment said. This marks the first time that a no driving day order has been issued by authorities this year.

The ministry said restrictions apply to roughly half of all affected cars from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. South Korea usually implements alternate no driving days based on odd and even last numbers of a vehicle's license plate.

The fine dust related restrictions first introduced in February of last year was last issued on Dec. 30.

The ministry said the measures are being taken because fine dust levels have reached 57 micrograms per cubic meter in Seoul as of 4 p.m. Sunday. The corresponding numbers for nearby Incheon and Gyeonggi Province reached 54 micograms and 67 micrograms, respectively.

Such numbers represent "bad" concentrations of fine dust in the air that can pose health problems. (Yonhap)